Michel Platini will resign as Uefa president after failing to overturn ban - 'I see it as a profound injustice'

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Michel Platini’s nine-year reign as president of Uefa ended in disgrace on Monday after sport’s highest court found him guilty of improperly pocketing £1.3 million given to him by Sepp Blatter.

Platini announced he would resign from European football’s governing body following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s refusal to overturn the ban imposed on him by Fifa’s ethics committee.

CAS lowered the France legend’s suspension from six to four years and cut his fine from 80,000 Swiss francs (£57,245) to 60,000 (£42,934) but otherwise upheld the verdict of the ethics committee and Fifa’s appeal committee.

Platini branded the outcome a “deep injustice” and vowed to continue his fight to clear his name in the Swiss civil courts, which can only intervene if there has been an abuse of legal process.

However, he also accepted that his career in football politics – in the short term at least – was over and gave Uefa his blessing to appoint his successor.

Platini had been hoping to convince the CAS to quash his ban and allow him to resume his role as Uefa president and Fifa vice-president in time for this summer’s European Championship in his native France. Instead, it delivered a damning verdict on his conduct in accepting a Sfr2 million suspected criminal payment from Blatter in 2011.

Platini and Blatter, who is also banned, argued the money was owed to the Frenchman from his time working as the latter’s presidential adviser between 1999 and 2002. But the CAS panel was “not convinced by the legitimacy of the payment”, which it ruled “did not correlate with the alleged unpaid part of his salary”.

It also highlighted the fact that the money changed hands four months prior to Blatter’s re-election as Fifa president, albeit stopping short of characterising the payment as a bribe.

Platini was criticised for “the absence of any repentance and the impact that this matter has had on Fifa’s reputation”.

The case has ended Michel Platini's hopes of staying in footballCredit:
AP

The panel also noted Fifa knew of the payment in 2011 but did not instigate an investigation until its existence was made public by Swiss federal prosecutors in September. That could have implications for others at the governing body, particularly acting secretary general Markus Kattner.

Both Fifa and its ethics committee said it would not comment on the verdict – or on whether Platini would be pursued for the return of the money – before receiving the full panel’s full judgment.

The world governing body is seeking restitution in the United States courts for millions of dollars stolen by its former executives during the scandal that plunged it into meltdown a year ago.

A spokesman for Blatter said he would not drop his own CAS appeal. Unlike Platini, the 80-year-old is already under criminal investigation over a payment which last year brought down the two most powerful men in football.

Uefa said it would discuss the scheduling of an elective congress at a special meeting of its executive committee on the morning of the Europa League final next Wednesday.

A ballot is likely in mid-September in Athens, with the early frontrunner Michael van Praag.

The Dutchman ran for the presidency of Fifa last year before withdrawing from the race and instead becoming one of Platini’s vice-presidents at Uefa.

It was unclear last night who would present the Euro 2016 trophy in the absence of the Frenchman, who plans to attend matches at the tournament but is banned from doing so in any official capacity.